Old Friends Want Same Seat On County Council

ELECTION 2000

October 21, 2000|By Derek Catron of The Sentinel Staff

Being an incumbent usually is a good thing in an election.

Candidates seeking re-election almost always have more name recognition among voters and are more likely to get campaign contributions. Best of all, there's a chance no one will run against you, which is what happened this year with two Volusia County Council seats.

This is not the case in County Council District 4 -- the northeast Volusia seat representing Holly Hill, Ormond Beach and Ormond-by-the-Sea -- where incumbent Joe Jaynes faces challenger Harriet Damesek in the nonpartisan race.

Jaynes, 43, drew three challengers, including Damesek, his former campaign manager when Jaynes unseated then-incumbent Stan Rosevear two years ago.

Damesek soundly whipped both in the September primary, collecting 41 percent of the vote. Jaynes accounted for 24 percent to advance to the Nov. 7 general election while Rosevear managed 16 percent, trailing even political newcomer Michaela Scheihing, who had 19 percent.

It's tough to pinpoint the reason why District 4 is so tough on incumbents.

Candidates agree it's a demanding district, with many well-educated, active residents who demand more government services -- and want them at lower costs. A large, unincorporated area means that many residents turn to their County Council representative with problems that otherwise would go to a city hall, such as code enforcement complaints.

The results of the primary have left district voters with an interesting choice. Understandably, the former allies share many of the same views. Both are strong environmental advocates who support the land acquisition and cultural enhancement referendums known as Volusia Forever and Volusia ECHO.

As environmentalists, their support for economic development is tempered with concern for how new growth is managed.

Each has raised similar amounts of cash, though Damesek appears a little more reluctant to spend it in pursuing the job that pays $31,086 annually. Through the Sept. 29 reporting deadline, she had raised $12,170 but spent only $6,912 on her campaign. Jaynes had raised $12,050 and spent $11,286.

Although the candidates share much, their style of interacting with residents and county officials differs greatly.

In explaining why she chose to run against Jaynes, Damesek says she was urged to do so by residents who found the incumbent unresponsive and perhaps a little too cozy with the county staff they elected him to challenge.

Jaynes attributes this to a misunderstanding of his management technique. He'd rather encourage county employees to work hard to solve residents' problems rather than to bash them and embarrass them publicly.

"It's good leadership, good management. I use the staff to work for me and taxpayers,'' Jaynes said. "We have good staff people. At heart, you'll find most of them have a heartfelt interest. They want to make this a better place, too.''

Damesek, 62, doesn't doubt it. But she sees herself as more of a hands-on candidate than Jaynes, who's more prone to follow through on solving problems, step-by-step.

"I have the time to do that,'' said Damesek, a retired psychologist. "That's what I do now.''